


Here There Be Dragons

by Ghost_Owl



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Cats, Dogs, Fluff, Getting Together, Humor, Love Confessions, M/M, Obikin Secret Santa 2020, Unidentified Large Black Flying Things, injuries, oh damn i didn't know that was a tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:53:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28315587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghost_Owl/pseuds/Ghost_Owl
Summary: Anakin's not afraid of the unknown.  He's not.  There are two things in his life that he cannot do, and he knows exactly why he can't do them.Anakin knows why he can't shift into his animal form like every other Jedi.  It's because he doesn't want to, it's because he's had a vision of what he would become, and he doesn't want it.Anakin knows why he can't tell Obi Wan how he feels.  It's because he doesn't need a vision to know how that would turn out— even if he may want to do it more than anything...
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 40
Kudos: 366
Collections: Obikin Secret Santa 2020





	Here There Be Dragons

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ironpen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ironpen/gifts).



> This story is for the lovely IronPen, who I was assigned in the Obikin Discord server's Secret Santa event! Her prompt was "A familiar disguise", which I chose to interpret as shapeshifters! Happy holidays, Iron, I hope you like it! <3
> 
> Special thanks to [JSwander](http://www.archiveofourown.org/users/JSwander/pseuds/JSwander/) for her titanic efforts in organizing the entire server event! ;3

Whenever Anakin thought about maybe changing his mind on his shift-form, he always reminded himself of the massive amounts of hair over the furniture shed from Obi Wan and Ahsoka alone, and how he was more than happy to not add to it.

Then again, if his form were one that had fur, he wouldn’t be facing this apprehension in the first place, now was he?

Not everyone in the galaxy could shift forms, was the other thing.You needed to have a certain level of sensitivity to the Force to be able to reach into yourself and unlock the other creature that shared your soul, so for as far as anyone knew, only Jedi with training had been able to master the ability.

Shift-forms were different to each person, another creature within the galaxy that Force scholars had determined to the best of their ability was a creature your own soul was best suited to.It was never another sentient species— one couldn’t shift from Human to Wookiee or Twi’lek to Trandoshan —but other than that, it was fair game as to what your shift-form would be.

Yoda’s form, for one, was fairly well-known and often seen around the Temple.A plump, shimmering green Ophys— a three-eyed snake around the length of a tall Human man with rainbow feathers that allowed him to fly through the halls, twining around younglings and booping their noses with a playful flickering tongue.

Other Jedi had various other animal forms of various shapes, sizes, and kinds of species.There were birds and mammals and reptiles from every page of the xenobiologist’s book.One of the first things Younglings and Initiates were taught was how to search deep within themselves while meditating and connecting with the Force, how to find that spark that was the other part of themselves and draw it out. 

Finding your shift-form usually meant a vision of yourself in your other form appearing in your mind, almost like a dream.They weren’t always clear or precise, but they were enough to give one an idea of how to move on to the next step of sinking into the Force and calling for that form to manifest around you.

A Jedi’s shift form was not necessarily a secret, but nor was it something that one was required to share.Usually, your line members knew about it, your close friends, the Masters who taught you, usually at least a Council member or two.Different people were more open with their forms than others, though spending too much time in your shift-form was subtly discouraged as your shift-form was not an escape for one to hide from the world when it became hard.The forms were more like a disguise, a cloak, a way for a Force user to experience the world through a different set of eyes.

Of course, the intergalactic war had changed the nature of shift-forms much like it had every other aspect of the Jedi way of life.Being able to change your body so your skin was impervious to blasterfire, or strong enough to tear droids apart with your bare hands was highly appealing, and the high-profile Jedi Generals were often seen in their shift forms by the media and civilians alike. 

Obi Wan seemed to take this as an opportunity to shift whenever he pleased, wherever he pleased, and stay in that form, leaving Anakin to talk to him that way if he wanted to talk to him at all.Not that this was a problem, communication-wise, sharing a bond with someone meant that even in your shift-form, you could speak with them telepathically.

It did, however, make Anakin appear rather strange at times to onlookers as he was forced to chase a large russet cat and yell after it like he was a madman.He swore Obi Wan did it on purpose.

Not that Obi Wan didn’t have a right to show off his shift-form.The size of a standard big cat with razor sharp claws and large glittering eyes like starlight, Obi Wan’s form was a Volpir Cat, some sort of distant relation to tookas but without the signature round face and spindly legs like the latter.He certainly shared the large, plumy tail, though he did _not_ appreciate anyone— Anakin —playing with it, claimed it made the fur kinked and was rather uncomfortable. 

Anakin thought he just didn’t like the temptation that his fluffy tail made to others.Ahsoka’s tail was much larger and furrier and _she_ never complained when people pet her tail, though then again, Ahsoka’s everything in regards to her form was larger than Obi Wan’s.Anakin certainly had not expected the tiny Togruta girl who had stepped off the ship claiming she was his new Padawan to charge into battle and transform into a white Albin Caniarctus, a truly _massive_ fluffy white dog strong enough to carry at lest four full-grown Humans.

Throughout the war, the clones and the public had become fairly familiar with both Obi Wan’s and Ahsoka’s shift-forms.They were both fairly open towards questions regarding their forms, and became formidable assets to the Republic fighting cause through them. 

When people saw Obi Wan’s or Ahsoka’s form, they would almost always end up asking Anakin about his own, because why wouldn’t they?Luckily, most retreated quickly at Anakin’s curt response that he didn’t have one, feeling like they had just stumbled upon some unseemly disability and were more than eager to scurry out of the awkward conversation that would result from pushing for more information.

Which was a good thing, as Anakin had never been a terribly skilled liar.

And he _was_ lying.

By the time one became a Padawan, usually they were at least aware of what their shift-form was, and most either had shifted once or were almost ready to do so.The deep, soul-searching meditation required to discover your form had never been one of Anakin’s strong suits, but transformation had been one of the skills he had been most eager about ever since Qui Gon had found him and showed off his own shift-form for Anakin and his mother.Anakin had read all the texts, listened dutifully as Obi Wan patiently explained how the process went, had done everything he should.At nine, he had started his apprenticeship earlier than most and Obi Wan had told him that there was nothing wrong if he didn’t get in touch with his form for a year or two.

But Anakin had been impatient, eager, sure of himself and his abilities.The Force was so _loud_ to him, so bright and insistent.It _wanted_ to be used, wanted to bend to his will and unveil the other form that would complete him.He knew he could find his shift-form, he just had to reach for it.

And late one night, when Anakin was around ten years old, he had been in his bed, unable to sleep and using the time to try and find his shift-form instead.He had buried the Force around his head like bedsheets and _searched_ as deep within the storm inside himself as he was able to, rummaging through every nook and crevice for what Obi Wan had always described as a spark.

Part of him had wanted to get some kind of cat, like Obi Wan’s.Anakin knew Obi Wan was one of the greatest Jedi the Temple had, knew that he owed it to his Master to be just as good as him one day so they could always be together, always have each other’s backs.He remembered how when he first had nightmares, his Master would curl up in his bed in his cat form, would twine himself around Anakin’s body and surround him in warm, reddish fur, and purr comfortingly, the body-shaking tremors soothing enough to calm a young boy’s anxiety and lull him back to sleep.

Yes, a cat would be good, Anakin had decided.

He had searched, and searched, and then suddenly— _there!_

It was the spark Obi Wan had described, bright and warm and waiting for Anakin to reach out and touch.So he did.

And was sucked immediately into a nightmare.

There was nothing inherently bad about the dream, necessarily.He suddenly felt himself flying, and at first, was elated.He had always wanted to fly, wanted to follow his name and travel the heavens for as far as the edges of the universe stretched.If he could fly, this was good— except for the part where he registered heat, so much heat.Five twitching, clawed legs flailing above him as he floated— flew— fell?There was a burning pain in one hand.Heat and black and twitching legs and the undignified flailing of unsteady flight.

All Anakin could think of was the pearly black desert beetles that buzzed around the food stalls in the Mos Espa market, flying into his face and swatting them irritatingly out of his eyes, using magnifying glasses to set them on fire with the heat of the two suns, Watto cursing and swiping them off his counter when he needed the space free to count his money.

Anakin was a desert beetle.He had to be.

He felt sick.

There was nothing wrong with your shift-form being an insect, objectively, he knew different people at the Temple whose forms were bugs.Hells, Master Ki Adi Mundi of the High Council’s shift-form was a large, beautiful moth with iridescent multicolored wings with patterns that looked like painted glass swirling around them.An older Padawan who had always been kind to Anakin was a glass cricket, xer small size and see-through form made xem the perfect candidate for stealth missions, and their song was lovely.

But Anakin could not be a desert beetle.He _couldn’t_ just be another miserable, tiny thing that dwelled in Tatooine scrap heaps, small things that irritated people and were no good to anyone.Anakin had made his mother a promise, that he was going to help people.Nothing from Tatooine ever helped anyone— and of _course_ that was Anakin’s shift-form.

At first, Anakin had tried to convince himself that it wasn’t a true shift-form vision he had had, just a bad dream brought on by worrying.But he had gone searching again, and again, and every time it was the same flailing, twitching vision.

Eventually, he had to accept that this was what the Force had decided his shift-form was to be.Well, guess what?Anakin was free and he didn’t have to be anything that someone else wanted to be if he didn’t want to be it.The Force couldn’t make him be a desert beetle.He didn’t _have_ to use his shift-form, did he?It wasn’t like anyone died if they didn’t ever shift.

No, Anakin decided.If the Force wasn’t going to give him any sort of useful tool, he was in no way obligated to use it just because.There were a bunch of other skills he could master to continue his quest to be the best Jedi he ever could.He didn’t need to turn into a Volpir Cat like Obi Wan did to be great.Anakin could do it all on his own.

From that day he had never attempted to access his shift-form ever again.There had been questions, of course they had, but he had brushed them off.He had always been a little different, was used to stares and questioning looks.The one person he always burned with shame over lying to was Obi Wan. 

His Master had noticed the change, where Anakin had gone from almost obsessing over his shift-form to completely dropping the subject.His Master had sat him down once, asked him in that achingly gentle voice if everything was alright, that it was really okay not to worry about his shift-form at the moment, there was time.Anakin had brushed him off, said he was okay with focusing on other tasks for now.

They hadn’t discussed it since save for one more time, much later, when Anakin was around fifteen and he had got in trouble for snapping at a Master who had asked about his shift-form.Obi Wan had sat him down again, brow furrowed in concern more than anger, and asked him, did Anakin need any help?It was okay, this was a difficult bit of self-discovery to achieve, there was no shame in taking more time than the average, but Anakin needed to know it was okay to ask for help.Anakin had stared into his Master’s eyes, glimmering with concern and winter frost melted and knew he was fifteen, almost an adult and yet still _far_ too young and knew he shouldn’t find them so beautiful and knew he shouldn’t be such a disappointment and snapped at him too, told him that maybe some people just didn’t _have_ shift-forms, Obi Wan, maybe that?

The topic was never breached again between them.

Anakin had always been open and accepting of the other shift-forms that lived around him.Most days he’d end up at least once going on runs with Ahsoka’s giant form bounding beside him or just casually standing and having a conversation with others, translating for the oversized cat perched on his shoulders because Obi Wan felt like being a cat but also felt like being tall.He kept up with the other Jedi on the battlefield and in all other aspects of life, even without having an animal form to rely on himself.It almost became a point of pride, that Anakin was as good as he was with no shift-form to assist him.

But at the same time, a part of him always felt like there was something missing, when Obi Wan shifted back to human and his presence pulsed brightly across their bond, the way his voice sounded so open in warm in Anakin’s head when he spoke to him in shift-form.When during a fight and Obi Wan gave him that Look before his shape brightened and morphed into a flash of copper and bright claws and Anakin could only watch as the large cat bounded on ahead, faster than even Anakin’s Human feet, and how he looked so by himself, even with Ahsoka’s form, even with another Jedi there. 

_Anakin_ should be there.Anakin was supposed to stand by Obi Wan, stay with him, fight at his side and have his back.Be his _partner_ , no matter if Obi Wan might never feel the same for him as Anakin was coming to realize he did.And Anakin couldn’t even keep up with his shift-form, all because the blasted Force decided it wasn’t going to give him anything remotely useful to help.

Anakin tried to shove his insecurities down though, as there was nothing he could do to fix his situation.He would smile and scratch Obi Wan behind his velvety-soft ears and watch as his Master’s cat-eyes would drift shut and hear a purr rumble out of him for brief moments before Obi Wan caught himself and Anakin would suddenly find paws swiping his hand away and his Master’s voice grumbling irritably through the mind link.

Using one’s friends’ shift-forms for your advantage was also an upside, Anakin could agree, like right now as he and Obi Wan were perched on Ahsoka’s back as she in her dog form bounded her way across the slippery, mist-stained metal terrain of the floating outposts hovering over the gas planet Fotahfi. 

Last used in the time of the High Republic by the Jedi Order, the outposts were now abandoned, though the security was still up and running; a combination of rumors of arms smugglers hiding out in the area and a number of sensors being tripped had caused the Council to assign Obi Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka to go check out the disturbance as they were already in the sector having just finished mediating peace talks a star system or two over. 

The floating outposts were each about a quarter of the size of a medium-sized Coruscant apartment building, tall towers built on top of each other in layers that gradually got larger like upside-down pyramids, hovered in the air amongst the clouds over the infinite drop into the gas planet’s core, and were connected by arching complicatedly-spun iron truss bridges that were highly unstable.Despite her much superior weight, Ahsoka in Caniarctus form was much more adept at keeping a clawed grip on the sagging bridges and able to bound across the stronger points of the bridges much faster than Humans could, especially when the mist from the clouds made the metal slick as ice.

They had already searched one outpost and found no one.They were now staring up at entrance to the second one, Ahsoka having just cleared the last hurdle of the wobbling bridge.Anakin had taken this opportunity to wind his arms around Obi Wan’s waist and squeeze tight.He enjoyed the way Obi Wan would shoot surreptitious glances back at him, and the tensing of his muscles when Anakin would lean forward to speak in his ear. 

“How many of these do we have to clear before we can go home?” Anakin asked, speaking close to Obi Wan’s ear again, enjoying how he swore he spotted a splash of red over his Master’s cheekbones.He didn’t _think_ this love he had would ever be anything more than one-sided, but sometimes he wondered.He knew Obi Wan cared about him, but in _what way—?_

_Master, no flirting on my back,_ Ahsoka quipped at him over their mental link and Anakin froze.

_Keep your voice down!_ he shot back, not registering that Ahsoka’s voice was in his _head_ and she was likely tactful enough to only speak in Anakin’s mind and not in Obi Wan’s as well.Either way, he was too busy panicking like a dumbass and shoving away from Obi Wan to notice he was sliding off of Ahsoka’s back, so he was almost as surprised to find himself slipping as he was when Obi Wan twisted to catch his waist with one strong arm and hook Anakin back around into his lap.

“Easy there,” Obi Wan teased, bright eyes and bright smile glowing even in the darkness of the night, and Anakin knew now from the sudden warmth in his cheeks that he was the one blushing fiercely.

Before Anakin could say anything back, Ahsoka made her continued exasperation known, as with only a single gruff _Whoof_ , the large dog sat down and sent Obi Wan and Anakin both sliding down the smooth fur off her back into a pile on the ground.

_I told you, Skyguy!_ echoed Ahsoka in Anakin’s head.He sent her the best mental equivalent of a flip-off he could manage as he met his Master’s gaze once more before hurriedly untangling his own limbs from any unsavory places on Obi Wan’s person.

Again, Anakin didn’t _think_ Obi Wan would ever love him back that way, but sometimes…

“We splitting up and taking different floors to cover ground again?” Ahsoka asked them, now standing in front of them back in her Togruta form and peering up at the outpost’s various levels.

“It definitely shortened our time in the last outpost,” Obi Wan agreed, getting to his feet and brushing his robe off before offering Anakin a hand up. 

“The quicker the better.It’s freezing up here,” Anakin added in, leaning forward to jostle Ahsoka with his hip as vengeance for her teasing earlier.She didn’t register it though, still staring upwards.“What is it, Snips?”

Ahsoka frowned.“I swore I might have smelled something while I was the dog.Like, ‘we may not be alone’, smelled something.”

Anakin hummed, sharing a look with Obi Wan, who nodded and shifted into the Volpir Cat, glowing crystal eyes blinking at them in the dark. 

_I think I sense something too_ , Obi Wan told them both through the mind link. _I’ll keep to the shadows and see if I can find anything.Your form is a tad more conspicuous, Ahsoka, especially given your size and white coloring in the dark, so it’s a choice for you shift or not depending on whether you want stealth or enhanced senses._

Of course there was no mention of Anakin shifting forms.“I think as long as we have our guard up, you might want to keep the element of surprise if we even still have it,” Anakin said.“Obi Wan can be our enhanced ears.”

Ahsoka nodded.“Yeah, I don’t think I’ll shift.”

_Alright, then_ , Obi Wan said. _I can take the lowest levels, you both can make your way up and I can see if anyone follows you._

“Bait duty, fun!” Anakin quipped, strolling into the outpost and feeling a smile on his face as Obi Wan’s tail whipped scoldingly at his knees as he passed.

The inside of the outpost was shadowy and stank of rust, old metal, and dust.The Jedi had taken away anything that would have been of value inside it centuries ago, so the only thing it had left was mist rolling through empty corridors leading to empty rooms.Obi Wan melted into the shadows soon after they entered, but he pressed the go ahead to venture into the upper levels across the Force bond.The Force itself was vibrating with the notion that Ahsoka probably hadn’t been wrong, that there was _something_ inside with them, so Anakin had his saber out and at the ready as he and Ahsoka descended for one of the outpost staircases. 

Anakin worked to suppress a cough as he walked into a cloud of dust on the stairs up, sending more of the metallic air shooting straight into his lungs.He doubted his lack of a shift-form would be a problem in this situation; Obi Wan and Ahsoka had discussed advanced senses, but if Anakin’s weak Human nose was overwhelmed by the metal scent, he highly doubted a Volpir Cat or Albin Caniarctus would fare any better. 

Eyes streaming as he quietly wheezed out the last of the dust, Anakin signaled for Ahsoka to get out and check the middle levels while he continued to scale upwards until he reached the very top of the outpost.Obi Wan would be headed up to join him soon if he cleared his area; the bottom levels were the smallest and Obi Wan had already been searching for a while.If there was any sort of danger, all three of them had comms to signal to the others.

The top level was a good way up, and Anakin found himself winded as he waved the stairway door open, not even having a second to catch his breath before the Force lit up like a signal flare, flashing in warning.

There were a number of dark figures in the hall as Anakin entered, torches turning to shine on him— so much for element of surprise —and a voice uttered a decisive _“Shit”._ Red blaster bolts began firing on him, Anakin drawing his lightsaber and deflecting them back as he retreated back behind the stairway for cover.He heard footsteps running towards him and figured getting cornered on the stairs would not be a good idea.Bracing himself, Anakin pressed the button on his commlink that would alert the others, hoping if one was in shift-form the other would let them know, and stepped back around the doorway and shoved forward in the Force, saber flashing.

Anakin was a Jedi and these smugglers were caught unaware.He’d be fine…

……….okay, maybe they weren’t necessarily _fine_.The bastard smugglers were, in fact, _arms_ smugglers and had been using the entirety of the upper levels of this particular outpost to store their wares.Anakin may— or may not, there was no _definite_ proof —have directed some of the fire in the wrong direction and set off a number of small to decidedly-not-small explosions. 

So the downside was: the upper portion of the outpost was currently on a great deal of fire with places in the walls missing to reveal the brisk night sky of the planet beyond.Anakin still hadn’t seen Ahsoka yet, though her half of the Force Bond remained bright and clear as ever.It didn’t make him any less concerned about it.

The upside was: Obi Wan was here, back in Human form and fighting an entire group of smugglers on the far end of the room, trying to avoid the flames. 

Despite the darkness, it seemed clear enough that the smugglers consisted mostly of other Humans, though a few Mirialans could be spotted amongst them as well as what looked like another Togruta— not Ahsoka, though.Despite Anakin’s earlier assumptions, they were putting up a hell more of a fight than expected; they definitely had the numbers on their side, and a good percentage of them appeared to have face masks too that filtered out the smoke that was steadily hampering Anakin and Obi Wan’s breathing efforts on top of the metal dust already in the air.Obi Wan’s Volpir Cat might have been able to get closer to them and deal with them more efficiently, but the growing fire and blasters around all that fur wasn’t a risk Obi Wan nor Anakin wanted to take.

Obi Wan was certainly holding his own as his Human form, though, Anakin couldn’t help but keep one eye on him as he fought, the blue of Obi Wan’s saber a perfect contrast to the bright sheen of his hair that flashed in the firelight. 

Now absolutely wasn’t the time, but Anakin couldn’t help when and when he wasn’t almost blown over by how lovely Obi Wan was. 

He watched as his Master’s gaze flickered towards a hole in the ceiling that revealed the night sky and with a running kick into another smuggler’s face, Obi Wan vaulted off them and up through the hole in a flash of glowing cyan, out of sight.It was a smart idea, taking to the roof; the smugglers couldn’t follow them up there what with the high ceilings and there was fresh air and not all this smoke.Anakin moved to follow Obi Wan’s path, when the Force shrieked a warning at him.

_Huh?Oh—_ Anakin realized too late as one of the smugglers stepped out from behind a small flaming pile of debris that wasn’t there before and shot him.His Bad Feeling had been enough to have him jerking aside and avoiding what would have been potentially a deadly gut-shot, but the blaster bolt grazed his hip painfully and sent Anakin staggering.Ouch.

There was a burst of Obi Wan’s— and more distantly, Ahsoka’s —alarm through their Force Bond and oh, now two smart ones were lunging at him now, apparently trying to snag his lightsaber.Anakin felt a burst of indignant anger at this, that these fuckers _really_ thought they could just overpower a Jedi Knight and steal his sacred weapon and sell it on the black market next to a pile of their short-charged blaster pistols. 

Anakin had already been driven towards a hole in the wall that lead out into oblivion, and he hadn’t exactly been the best at not killing some of the smugglers already, so he figured it wouldn’t be _too_ big an issue for him to stagger backwards and ignore the fire in his hip to throw both his assailants through the gap and to their deaths. 

It wasn’t an issue— not until he tried to throw the second one, and his injured hip gave out on him when bumped in the struggle, and their combined weight distribution and proximity to the edge sent the smuggler and Anakin both tipping off the the ledge and into thin air.

Dimly, Anakin realized as the outpost shot by him rapidly that he was going to die.There wasn’t a question about it, there was nowhere for him to land now until he reached the planet’s core.The smuggler next to him was screaming, but all Anakin could do was stare up at the starry sky that was growing further and further away.He felt— _pain_.Not just his hip; if anything, that pain had vanished in the adrenaline rush.No, emotional pain.

Anakin wasn’t ready to go yet, not now, not like this.There was a war on, people needed him.Anakin had fought long and hard to get where he was and while he wasn’t exactly a _good_ Jedi, he had made himself a valuable one and damnit, he _liked_ his job.He’d miss Rex and the rest of his troops who had fought by his side.He’d miss his good friends like Padmé, who had been one of his closest confidants for the entire war.He’d miss Ahsoka, Force, he’d miss her, miss helping her reach her full potential and see the amazing Jedi Knight he knew she’d become.

He’d miss Obi Wan. 

Anakin’s throat caught on itself.

_Obi Wan_.His beloved Master. 

Anakin loved him.Anakin deeply, truly loved him, and he had been so _stupid_ not to do anything about it before, he loved Obi Wan and he could not leave him.He refused.

Images of Obi Wan flashed through Anakin’s mind as he fell, watching the sky, almost soothing him at the same time they made him grieve, sending him into this strange, desperate headspace where Anakin knew he would give anything just to see Obi Wan one final time.

Reaching for that anything subconsciously, Anakin found a bright spark in the Force, residing almost within himself.The only thing in his head his Master’s eyes and how they matched the stars he saw now, Anakin grabbed at the spark and _yanked_.

Immediately, his vision started to blur and go, Anakin blaming it on the gases of the planet and the descent speed finally starting to overtake him, and the last thing he remembered clearly before blacking out was his arms and legs in front of him flailing and clawing at the air while black wings surrounded him and blocked out the stars. 

The last thing he thought was a morbid laugh— how quaint, that he would die in his shift-form he had spent his entire life running from.

* * *

Of course there were more smugglers up on the roof, Obi Wan thought ruefully to himself as the second he shot through the gap into blessedly fresh air, his sword arm was coming up to deflect no less than three headshots while he was still midair. 

Flipping back to the ground of the roof, Obi Wan was thankful that at least there were only a few smugglers, he counted five, and no visible entrances up here for backup save the way he came.Nevertheless, there was no cover on the roof, and no options for Obi Wan save for trying to maneuver so he wasn’t surrounded and to be thankful it was Soresu he would need to rely on to keep the volley of blaster bolts away from him. 

At least these ones hadn’t brought out flamethrowers and missile launchers yet— ah, he had jinxed it.Obi Wan reached out with the Force and deflected a missile shot towards him with a grunt, stray blaster bolt nearly taking off his arm in his distraction.Gritting his teeth, Obi Wan twirled his saber back to his defensive stance, only to stagger all over again at his Bond with Anakin lighting up in pain.  
  
Vaguely deflecting a few more shots, Obi Wan tried to focus on the connection he shared with the most important person in his life, trying to figure out what had happened, did Anakin need his help?

Two of his opponents trying to flank him distracted Obi Wan momentarily, him telling himself that he was a Jedi and he did _not_ take a vicious sort of pleasure in deflecting one’s shot straight back at their foot and sending them howling to the ground in pain.

_Pain.Anakin._

Obi Wan focused back on their flashing Bond, just in time for it to go fuzzily static. 

Obi Wan’s heart turned to ice.

_No, oh no_.

Obi Wan knew what it felt like when death broke a Force Bond; had experienced it firsthand when Qui Gon had died.That wasn’t this.

Obi Wan had no clue what this was, but this was worse.He couldn’t feel Anakin at all.He knew the Bond was still there, but it was like he had lost Anakin in a giant cloud of fog and there was no way to follow him.

_I’ll follow him_ , Obi Wan prayed to the Force. _I can do it I swear, I’ll follow him, just give me a sign, show me the way, please.I’ll follow him to death and beyond, I only need his light to guide me_.

Vaguely, he registered he could have died multiple times as the fog that overtook his head was a solid distraction from the now four angry opponents who had managed, he noted when he bothered to look up, to finally surround him.They hadn’t taken the shot though.

A Human man stepped forward, pale as the clouds around them and only equally pale eyes visible over his face mask.“We just killed your friend.Surrender, or we will kill you too.”

Obi Wan was trying to shake the mental water from his ears, giving the misty Bond with Anakin a few desperate yanks.“Oh, did you?” he managed, impressively keeping his voice level. _No, no they didn’t, I know they didn’t, I know they didn’t, I would know if—_

“They just commed from below,” the smuggler told him.“The other one went over the side.He’ll be halfway to the planet’s core by now.We know there’s a third one of you, and we’ll hurt her too if necessary.”  
  
_Anakin’s not dead, Anakin is NOT dead,_ Obi Wan told himself.It was likely a mistake.Anakin must have somehow fallen to a lower level.He couldn’t be over the side, no, Obi Wan would _know_.His head was still swirling, so all he could manage for the smuggler who was trying to taunt him with Anakin’s death was a slow nod.

The man, who was obviously expecting a reaction from Obi Wan, seemed not to appreciate that.Obi Wan jumped as another blaster fired near his foot.“Did you hear me?” the man snapped at him.“It is over.We have you surrounded.We have already killed one of you.Hand over the laser sword and we _might_ let you or the other one live.”

“Hmm, no you won’t,” Obi Wan said without thinking.“We’ve seen your hideout and revealed your operation, you’ll kill us both out of spite if anything.”Shavit, his _head_.The Force was loud in his mind, an instrument building up to a crescendo.But to _what—?_

Everything swelled.The Force, drawn tight around Obi Wan like a breath taken, the mists in his mind like they were about to be chased away by sunlight, the buzzing around his and Anakin’s Bond as the strands connecting them seemed to grow and stretch like taffy.Obi Wan was too alarmed by this to register the man in front of him swelling in anger and Obi Wan faintly realized he may get shot for not playing along.

“You—“ the man started, but then the winds around the roof picked up and the clouds began to swirl as if a ship was disturbing them.  
  
Obi Wan didn’t sense a ship, though. 

He sensed one, singular lifeform.It was distantly familiar.

A large, rumbling hissing sounded around them.Obi Wan found himself rooted in place.He couldn’t turn around to the edge of the roof behind him, he had no idea what was coming.He just, couldn’t move.

His assailants were not in the same boat; right as Obi Wan registered a _something_ coming into existence behind him, he could see the widening of the eyes of the smugglers, the five lightning-bolt flashes of _terror_ in their auras, the way they all scrambled away from Obi Wan and across the roof, fumbling with their weapons.  
  
Obi Wan was still confused, and the Force was a swelling symphony around him, and he was still worried, but the only thing he knew for sure was that above all else he needed to listen to the tiny voice inside his head that was telling him that he needed to get down, _now_.

The second Obi Wan dropped to the ground, heat licked up his spine as a jet of blue flame shot over his head towards the smugglers on the roof and their petrified screams.He didn’t have the time to look up before a massive, dark shape shot over his head with another screeching hiss, and all Obi Wan could do was sit up and watch in dazed astonishment as an honest-to-force _dragon_ rampaged across the roof.

It was killing the smugglers, and Obi Wan should probably be more concerned about that, should definitely be more concerned about his own safety, but he found himself trapped in place by the sheer amount of _awe_ overcoming him at the sight.

Obi Wan had seen dozens upon dozens of fantastical beasts in his lifetime, lived in a Temple full of them, but he had never seen a dragon before, had not expected anything like a dragon here on Fotahfi.He knew it was one though, the shimmering pitch black wings that reflected the light of the moon above, the large reptilian head with two bright blue eyes the color of a Nubian lake, the long prehensile tail that whipped around and sent one unfortunate smuggler right off the side of the building, the large fanged maw full of razor sharp teeth— and fire, oh, yes, fire, and here Obi Wan had thought the roof was the only place free of it. 

He would give the dragon credit though that it wasn’t spreading its flames blindly and making the whole roof a hazard zone.The shots were quick, efficient, and brutal, taking out the rest of the smugglers, and right, Obi Wan very much should be doing _something_ besides just sitting and gawping at it.

As if he had summoned it, the dragon’s massive head swung around to catch Obi Wan directly in its brilliant azure stare.

Obi Wan’s breath caught.

The dragon bared its teeth, a snarling hiss making its way past its bared maw.Its wings flapped threateningly, sending Obi Wan swaying with the wind they generated.He could be lit on fire, right this very second.He distantly recalled that his Bond with Anakin was still fuzzy and unclear.

Obi Wan thumbed off his lightsaber and raised a hand.“Hello there,” he murmured.He did not want to fight this dragon, even if he thought he could do it.He didn’t know exactly why, he just knew bone-deep that he did not want to do it.

The dragon lurched forward and Obi Wan couldn’t repress a flinch, but quickly he noticed that the dragon had chosen not to fly, and was limping its way across the roof at him.

Limping.

Why was it limping, Obi Wan had seen it decimate the smugglers, they hadn’t been able to touch it, how—?

He saw it and drew in a deep breath. 

In place of the lower half of the dragon’s right foreleg and foot was a bloodied stump.Obi Wan could see the wound glimmering in the dim light of the night sky.It looked fresh.

_But how could—?_ Obi Wan found himself taking a step towards the dragon in order to try and see its wound closer, earning himself an enraged— or maybe more indignant, Obi Wan mused —shriek as the dragon skidded to a halt, sitting back on its haunches and _glaring_ suspiciously at Obi Wan.He swore the look was almost familiar.

Obi Wan took another cautious step forward and the dragon’s talons skidded across the roof stone as it lurched backwards, hissing in warning, tail lashing.Flickers of flame puffed through bared teeth.

“No, no, do not fear me,” Obi Wan told it, feeling slightly hysterical.A fucking _dragon_ , fearing _him?_ But something told him he needed to soothe the wild beast in front of him, could sense from it a prickly, spiny armor of confusion and anxiety.

Tentatively, Obi Wan reached out towards its wildfire aura in the Force, connecting with it for a second before the dragon spat at him and reeled backwards.But Obi Wan caught something in there, something almost— familiar?

Shaking his head, Obi Wan continued walking towards the dragon, ignoring the bared teeth and the raised hackles, and the constant rumbling hiss of suspicion and warning.Now that he was closer, he could actually see the shimmery ebony scales that gleamed like smooth river pearls, just how infinitely blue those eyes were, the elegant slope of the wings, the firm muscle of the body.

“Beautiful,” Obi Wan found himself murmuring, taking another step closer.

He could have swore the dragon’s eyes widened, though he definitely did sense a flicker of befuddlement in the roiling aura and the beast let out a noise that almost sounded like a confused whine.

It really was an expressive creature, Obi Wan observed, looking along its face as he took another step closer.From what he had seen, it could show anger, confusion, it responded to him almost like it…

Obi Wan’s entire train of scientific thought ran straight off as his gaze settled on the dragon’s right eye.Or rather, on the large scar bisecting the bright blue jewel.

“…Like you can understand me,” Obi Wan breathed, unable to comprehend the conclusion his mind had just ran across.

Obi Wan had seen that scar on the dragon’s face.Not one similar to it, no, the _exact_ scar.Obi Wan had ran his hands over the fresh wound to help heal it, much to the complaints of its petulant owner.Obi Wan had traced it with his eyes once it had healed time and time again, had tried to pretend he wasn’t appreciating the elegant golden beauty of the face it belonged to.

Obi Wan tugged once more on the hazy Force Bond between him and Anakin, saw the dragon’s head shake minutely as if shaking off a bug.Tentatively, he reached out in the Force again to brush against the dragon’s Signature, the dragon hissed again but this time it felt much less aggressive.

The same confused fog swirling around Obi Wan’s Force Bond with his former Padawan was swirling around the dragon’s entire mental aura.

_No, no, it can’t be_ , Obi Wan tried to rationalize, tried not to let his mind run away with what was possibly the most wild notion it had ever come up with. _Anakin has never shifted before in his life, he doesn’t know how, he never was able to learn, I failed to teach him…_

Part of Obi Wan still blamed himself for that, how his apprentice had been so excited to learn to shift, only for his moment of transformation to never occur, and how upset Anakin had been afterwards.Obi Wan had never pushed on this, never forced the matter, not after Anakin had snapped at him over it.Even the other Masters had reassured him that if Anakin chose not to learn, that was his choice, a shift form wasn’t required of a Jedi, and he was doing just fine on his own without one.

Realistically, there was no way in the universe that this dragon could be Anakin Skywalker, even if Obi Wan so badly wanted it to be, even if in hindsight a kriffing _dragon_ was quite possible the most perfect, the _only_ shift-form Obi Wan could ever imagine for his all-encompassing star, his Anakin, who he was already far too attached to as it was.

But the missing foot where a prosthetic hand would be… the eye scar… the fact that the smugglers had pointedly informed Obi Wan that their comrades still below had seen Anakin fall off the side of the building into the abyss— where the dragon had emerged from…

When a Jedi first shifted into their animal form, there was always a brief period of confusion where ones mind was adjusting, where they lost themself to the instincts of their shift-form’s species, where they didn’t know who they were until another person or even the strength of their own self-control could return them to themselves.This was part of why most Jedi shifted young, so they could have a number of Masters and Knights around to help guide them through their first shift, keep them from getting lost in their mind, bring them back.If Anakin was in there, he didn’t recognize Obi Wan because his mind had gotten lost.If Anakin was in there, then…

Obi Wan felt a tightness around his eyes and blinked it away furiously.He was _not_ going to lose his head, even though he could have possibly just lost the most important—

He shook his head.No, he was going to do this logically.He was going to find out the truth, no matter how far-fetched it may seem, or how far-reaching his denial truly was.

Taking a deep gulp of air, Obi Wan made his decision.He walked the last few paces until he was right in front of the dragon, who by now had gone silent and was watching his approach through narrowed eyes— and _oh_ , how Obi Wan absolutely recognized that suspicious pout, now merely more… scaly.

He reached out a hand, dropped any and all mental shields, and extended his entire self through his outstretched fingertips.He could see them trembling.

“Anakin?” Obi Wan asked, hating the shake in his voice as he stared right up at those familiar eyes.

He couldn’t breathe.

The dragon stared at him apprehensively, Obi Wan stared back.

_Please.Please please please—_

Obi Wan gave a wet gasp as suddenly, the dragon’s head jerked forward, missing his hand entirely and clunking straight into Obi Wan’s chest, knocking him onto his backside and taking the wind in his lungs with him.

None of that mattered though, because Obi Wan and Anakin’s Force Bond had just roared back to full brightness.

A voice, sounding dazed but oh so clear inside Obi Wan’s head, just like when he spoke with his Line members in his Volpir form.  
  
_Obi Wan?_ came Anakin’s voice.

Obi Wan gave a watery laugh, scrambling back to his feet and looking wondrously at the dragon— _Anakin_ —who was now staring at him with sentient intelligence, pressing concern and confusion through their Bond.

_Master, I— what?_ Anakin shook his massive head again, snorting a puff of smoke out his nostrils. _What happened?Why are you so small?I thought I just died, am I dead?_

“No,” Obi Wan said, voice still embarrassingly thick.“No, Anakin, you are most certainly alive.Dear one, you’ve _shifted_.”

_Huh?No I haven’t_ , Anakin said, and it really was strange holding a conversation with a dragon like this. 

Obi Wan chuckled.“I assure you, you have.”

_No, I haven’t_ , Anakin insisted. _If I had, you’d be a giant right now, not tiny._

Obi Wan blinked.“What are you talking about?”

Anakin’s familiar brand of “oh sorry Master I just—“ guilt floated sheepishly across their Bond and Obi Wan instinctively suppressed the urge to immediately let out an exasperated sigh. _My shift-form is a desert beetle._

“I beg your pardon?”

_I kind of lied.To you, to everyone.I had the vision of my shift form when I was like, ten.I’ve known damn well what I am.I just didn’t want to associate with that particular creature so… I just ignored that I had one and pretended to everyone else that I didn’t._

Obi Wan blinked again.“Are you serious?”

More guilt. _Yes, Master._

The sigh Obi Wan had been holding back broke free in full force, complete with him dropping his head into his hands.“Anakin, I love you, but you really don't _ever_ use that brilliant brain of yours, do you?”

Obi Wan froze as soon as the words left his mouth, mortified at the dropping of the word _love_ and even more startled that stars, did he mean it more than anything.Thankfully, Anakin was too busy puffing up in indignation at the insult. _I do too use my brain!If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been doing just fine as a Jedi even without turning into a slimy little bug, so—_

“Anakin for the love of the Force, you are _not a desert beetle_ , will you please just look at yourself?!” Obi Wan exploded.

He felt more than a bit vindicated at being able to quiet a bloody dragon like that as Anakin went quiet, large head craning around to examine himself.

_…I— I don’t think beetles are this big…_ came the mulish reply.

“No, Anakin,” Obi Wan replied patiently.“They are not.”

A growling hiss. _What in the Sith hells am I, then?_

Obi Wan opened his mouth, about to try and break it to him gently, when suddenly a figure shot up through the hole in the roof.Obi Wan and Anakin only had a second to be tense before relaxing at the sight of Ahsoka, smoke-stained and covered in cuts and bruises, but alive and with green sabers wielded threateningly.

Ahsoka, quite reasonably, was drawn directly to the fire-breathing lizard looming over her Grandmaster and made a startled yelp.“Uh, Master Obi Wan?!”

Obi Wan felt Anakin try his best to extend his presence out towards his Padawan. _It’s okay, Ahsoka.It’s just me._

If Anakin was hoping to calm her down, he failed miserably.Ahsoka shrieked, jumping a good few feet in the air and nearly falling over afterwards.“What the fuck, _Anakin?!_ ”

“Language,” Obi Wan said reflexively.

Ahsoka was still yelling.“That’s you? You can shift?!”

Anakin’s tail flicked in what Obi Wan assumed was anxiety. _Yes.No.Yes.Look, it’s a recent development, alright?_

“You’re a _dragon?_ ” Ahsoka demanded.

_No, I am not a—_ Anakin cut himself off, taking another good look at himself. _Wait a minute._

Obi Wan exhaled.“Oh boy.”

_Obi Wan…_ He recognized the shrill pitch in Anakin’s voice that appeared whenever his former apprentice was starting to panic.

“Yes, Anakin.As I was _trying to tell you_ , I was rather confused that you were so certain you were a beetle—“

“Wait, what?” Ahsoka said.

“—when it is extremely clear that you are the first dragon shifter I’ve ever heard of,” Obi Wan finished.

Anakin looked dumbstruck, an honestly quite amusing expression to be seen on a dragon’s face under different circumstances.

He snorted.

He sneezed, Obi Wan leaping backwards as the flames nearly seared him.“Careful!”

_Holy shit,_ Anakin was saying, beginning to get up and turn in circles much like he stress-paced in human form. _Holy shit._

“Language,” Ahsoka told him.

Obi Wan was too focused on Anakin’s bleeding stump of a foreleg that caught his attention again when Anakin started pacing.“Anakin, I know this is a new experience for you, but you’ll have to—“

_I can’t be a dragon, I CAN’T be._ The giant head whirled around to face Obi Wan with what had to be the strangest and yet most adorable pair of giant pleading eyes he had ever seen. _Master, you have to help me, I can’t—_

Obi Wan sighed, sharing a knowing look with Ahsoka, who frowned worriedly at her Master before nodding at Obi Wan and stepping away and turning her head to give them some privacy.Obi Wan thanked the universe for sending him and Anakin someone as wonderful as Ahsoka, then reached out in the Force to soothe his former Padawan’s prickly cloud of worry and fear much as he had countless times before.“Talk to me, Anakin.”

The dragon let out a whine, lowering his head to Obi Wan’s level and Obi Wan, on a whim, stroked at the smooth scales on his face. 

_I’ve been a fool_ , Anakin said miserably. _I have.If I had known, I could have mastered this years ago.I could have protected you._

Obi Wan’s heart ached for this silly, loyal, now-oversized wonder of a man.“You didn’t need to—“

_I could have protected you, I should have.It was my job to be by your side, to help you_ , Anakin insisted. _Don’t you know how amazing you are?We could have been a team._

“We _are_ a team,” Obi Wan reassured him, scratching under his chin and delightedly finding that Anakin’s eyes drifted shut for a moment and his aura smoothed out.“If it helps, you’re much bigger than my cat form.It wouldn’t be easy for us to fight together, you might step on me.”

Obi Wan had been hoping for calm teasing, but Anakin’s calm washed away with another growl. _Never.Never, Obi Wan, I would never hurt you._

“I… I am glad to hear that, though it is not something I did not already know.”

_I think… I think I shifted for you._

“What?What do you—“

_I fell off the side of the outpost.I was falling.I was going to fall forever, I was going to die.And all I could think about was how much I would miss you._

Obi Wan’s heart grew tight.“Anakin—“

_How much I didn’t want to leave,_ Anakin continued, nuzzling into Obi Wan’s hands, and he was trying so, so hard to keep himself together. _I hated what I thought my form was, the beetle, because I thought I couldn’t be enough for you with it.I wanted to be the best, wanted to be everything for you._

“Anakin, you _are_ everything.”The words were out of Obi Wan’s mouth before he even realized.He had no clue where this was going, had completely lost track of the conversation, and now things were going too fast, too far, too deep.He should pull away.He didn’t.“They told me you died and I couldn’t believe it, couldn’t even imagine a galaxy where you weren’t here with me.”

Anakin’s aura trembled lightly at Obi Wan’s admission, vulnerably, like a young bird’s song at dawn, but then darkened in a flash. _I’m not enough, though._

“Whyever not?”

_I’m sorry.I just— I think your definition of everything and mine are a bit different._

And Obi Wan was about to ask him just what he meant by that, when something in Anakin’s shields cracked, just the bit, let something inside come out and let it settle around Obi Wan like a realization.

Oh.

_Oh_.

Obi Wan knew he should be more worried about this, that Anakin had shared this, that he was accepting this, that everything that was the mess that was them had just gotten about ten thousand times more complicated.

But all Obi Wan could find himself doing was smile, laugh a little wetly, and press his forehead against Anakin’s large nose.He was cool to the touch.Right.Reptilian, cold-blooded.Anakin tensed against Obi Wan’s contact.

“It seems you really did forget,” Obi Wan whispered, “that just a few minutes ago, I told you I loved you.”

Anakin inhaled sharply. _Don’t tease me_.

“I would never,” Obi Wan echoed him.“Not about this.I said I loved you then accused you of neglecting your brain, remember?”

Anakin gave a grumbling moan of despair. _Yes, but not the way I’m thinking of._

“Oh, for the love of—“Tired, Obi Wan reached deep within himself, past the warm ember of his shift-form, deep into his soul, and pulled out all the love for Anakin he possibly had.He gathered it up, then pushed it straight into his surprised apprentice’s brain.Crude, but up-front.Anakin did always work better with the direct route.“Yes,” Obi Wan told him.“The way you’re thinking of.Like _that._ ”

Anakin’s side of the Bond all but _sang_ , warm and sweet-tasting like fresh springtime. _Obi Wan…_

“Anakin,” Obi Wan breathed back, like a prayer.

He could feel the dragon quivering beneath him, the tall, proud beast, and Obi Wan had done this. _You know,_ Anakin told him, and even in their minds his voice was shaky. _You know, I’m kind of offended that the only time you’ve called me “beautiful” is when I’m a giant smelly lizard._

“Come back to human form and I’ll say it again,” Obi Wan promised him instantly. 

_I don’t know if I can_.The dragon warbled hesitantly. _I don’t even remember half of what happened here until you reached out to me, Sith, I just hope I didn’t eat anyone.How do I come back?_

“I will help you.”

_Hmm.How did you even know who I was, and that I wasn’t some terrifying beast that was going to eat you._

Obi Wan had a slew of logical answers to that question and he was ready to use any of them.What came out of his mouth was:“Because I love you.”

Anakin’s startled, delightful barking laugh danced its way across their Bond like a shooting star. _Well maybe it worked because I love you too._

Obi Wan touched his forehead to Anakin’s face again— until out of nowhere it was gone, and there was a bright flash of light.Stumbling slightly, Obi Wan was able to right himself upon suddenly clutching soft, warm skin under his hands.

A very startled, very naked, very _Human_ Anakin stared back at him in shock.

“It worked,” Anakin rasped, blinking incredulously.

Obi Wan remembered his promise.“You’re even more beautiful like this,” he told him.

The sunniest smile that split the night spread across Anakin’s face for a heartbeat— until the smile wavered and with a whimper Anakin collapsed with a look at his freely-bleeding stump of his arm. 

“Ow.”

“Master!”Ahsoka was racing towards them while Obi Wan swore sharply, shrugging off his robe and throwing it over Anakin while finagling his belt off so he could use it to stop the bleeding.He should have remembered that figuring how to bring one’s clothes back with them along with anything else they had on their person was another skill that needed to be mastered with a shift-form.

But no, he had been too damned lovestruck to remember that, and now Anakin’s prosthetic had been ripped off and was possibly lost to the void and he was out here in only Obi Wan’s robe to protect him from the chill.

He was still smiling dazedly, however, as Ahsoka and Obi Wan flitted around him, poking at Ahsokaand trying to make her laugh as Obi Wan with his meagre healing abilities and minus one outer tunic sleeve was able to wrap up the stump and stop the open bleeding. 

Wiping a hand over his forehead, Obi Wan leaned over the remarkable man currently laying in his lap.Anakin grinned up at him, raising his remaining hand and softly brushing Obi Wan’s bangs that had fallen in his face back into place.

“You’re really beautiful too, you know,” Anakin murmured.

Ahsoka gave an exasperated snort, staring at the two of them.“Oh, so you’ve worked that bit out, have you?”

“Shh,” Obi Wan told her irritably, while Anakin stuck out his tongue before turning back to Obi Wan.

“Don’t forget about this.I think I might pass out for a bit, but promise me you won’t.”

His eyes reflected the moonlight above and Obi Wan couldn’t help but lean down and brush a kiss across his mouth.Anakin gaped back up at him, only half-aware, and Obi Wan closed his mouth gently with a finger.

“I won’t,” Obi Wan told him.“I promise.”

“Mmm,” Anakin hummed, snuggling into Obi Wan’s lap.“Okay.”

“Go to sleep, Skyguy,” Ahsoka whispered, but Anakin was already drifting off.

Obi Wan and Ahsoka sat there with him in silence for a heartbeat, Obi Wan appreciating Ahsoka’s patience while he pulled himself together, before Obi Wan hooked his arms around Anakin and scooped him up before getting to his feet.“Is there a clear path back down to the entrance?” Obi Wan asked Ahsoka, already heading back for the hole in the roof.

“Yes,” Ahsoka said, trotting after him.“Sorry I was too late to join you both, the smugglers caught me as I was on my way up the stairs, and I had just dealt with the last one when the rest of them all came stampeding down running from a ‘demon on the roof’”.She shook her head fondly, looking at Anakin’s sleeping face.“They all went to hide, if we’re quiet on the stairs we can make it down and out without them noticing and then my dog form can run us away fast enough.”

Obi Wan looked down at the most precious thing in the world to him in his arms.

“Good, that’s good.Make sure you run fast, I think we all might need to do some making up for lost time.”

**Author's Note:**

> For reference, I was thinking Obi Wan's Volpir's Cat is basically a wildcat-fox hybrid but also big enough to cut a bitch. Ahsoka's Albin Caniarctus is BLATANTLY just a polar bear dog like Naga from Legend of Korra. My apologies but not really for the mutilated Latin. Anakin's just a big ol' standard dragon, not a Krayt dragon since thanks to certain new media we know those just look like the Alaskan Bull Worm from Spongebob.
> 
> Merry Crisis to all and good fucking riddance to this entire flaming garbage pile year.
> 
> Leave a comment and tell me what you thought! Or, come say hi to me on my **SW tumblr,** [@twilightofthe](https://twilightofthe.tumblr.com/)


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